Ok everyone, I've got a question about my '02 24 valve. I recently put an Edge Juice w/Attitude on my truck and at the same time I upgraded to a 150gph FASS. I've now got at a minimum 16psi through WOT, and 18psi at cold idle, so my fuel pressure is great.

The thing that I've noticed though is that the VP44 seems to be much louder than it used to be, and when I'm on the highway, I can hear it "surge" for lack of a better word... the tone of the injection changes as I'm cruising at a constant speed... the truck runs and drives fine, but this extra noise I'm hearing has me a little worried.

It's very hard to describe... the sound of the pump seems to get slightly louder, then slightly quieter over the course of a few seconds... loud/quiet/loud/quiet... if I turn the radio up I can't hear it, but if I'm just cruising in silence it bugs the heck out of me.

Here's what I'm wondering: First, it only does this when I have the Edge set on anything other than 0. Is this the Edge box adjusting the injection timing? It seems to be louder the higher I set the power level on the box. Should I be worried about this noise, or should I just crank the music up and ignore it?

 

I cant say i have ever heard my VP-44....other than being right up next to it and hearing it buzzing per se........are you sure its your pump?? Seem kinda odd.....new one to me at least!

 

Ok, well it may not be the VP44... but the sound from that general area I guess? I don't know the technical term for the "knocking" sound that is generated when the truck is running... is it from the injection of the high pressure fuel... the combustion?

[EDIT]: Also, another thing that has occurred to me is that all of the pumps that I usually fuel up at have now changed over to ULSD... am I crazy in thinking that my truck will be a bit louder when running ULSD instead of regular LSD?

 

WELL......first check your PS fluid level.....make sure its ok...its around the same area....and if it is low on fluid, it would Hum/Buzz somewhat......ALSO....put the truck back to stock performacne wise....take all the boxes off. Pressure from the FASS looks to be good......

Fill out your sig if you dont mind to let us know what you have....

 

a few years back on my fathers 02, when driving down the road at 65-70mph, you would here a surging like you are describing. I asked him what the noise was and he said he did not know, and i replied that it did not sound right and that my truck did not do it. In the end, it turned out that his Vp44 was failing. He ran the codes and had the vp44 code in there. He got the pump replace by the dealer and he was fine for about another year when the same surging sound came back. Again the vp44 had failed. He had no boxes on his truck. Check your codes and see if you have any, hopefully it is not the vp44 going bad. With you hooking up the edge, you might have pushed the vp over the edge, no punn intended. How long have u had the fass on your truck?

 

Alright, updated the sig with the particulars on my truck.

Diesel-Dan: Like I said in the original post, it doesn't do it if I turn the box down to 0. I could unplug the box and test it, but I'd imagine it won't do it then either. I'll check the PS fluid tonight for other reasons (I have sort of a creak/groan when I turn the wheel), but I don't think that's the problem. It's definitely a change in loudness from the engine... almost like the RPM's are surging up and down, but they're not, the noise is the only symptom.

CTD: I sure hope that's not the case... I did have some trouble previously with a lift pump that wasn't putting out enough, which is one of the reasons why I went ahead and did the FASS. I had a BD pressure light on the truck during that time and was very light footed with it, so I hope I didn't do any damage to the IP because I was very careful not to mash on it and let that light come on. I will check the codes again tonight, don't think there are any in there as I checked recently and had none... but worth another look. The FASS and the Edge box have both been on since Christmas (installed them at the same time). I don't have any other symptoms of a dying VP44 that I've heard like hard starts or dead pedal feel while on the highway, which is why I am crossing my fingers hoping that's not what it is.

I have the Vulcan Draw straw as well listed in my sig, but it's not installed in the truck yet (waiting for summer so I can just take the bed off to do it).

 

Even at 0, the edge box is still altering things to keep your truck happy. Boost fooler and such. If there was a connection issue or harness issue, putting the truck completely back to stock is the best place to start. That way you can rule out items and make your job easier.

AHH you got a sig now! haha.....Yeah, that Juice WAM has a lot going on under the hood. I have see issues with bad grounds cause funky operation of Comp boxes.....i would think that the Juice is very similar in nature with a few additions?

 

Well, I guess it's similar... I honestly don't know though, this is my 1st diesel truck and I've never laid eyes on the Edge Comp boxes... I'll double-check my wiring and grounds for the edge box tonight too... it just would be odd for it to be something like that, because there is really nothing else wrong with the truck as far as how it runs/drives... the edge works great, I'm scared of pushing it to it's full potential because I have a stock clutch.

[EDIT]: Also, realize my hesitation to "putting the truck back to stock", there's a lotta wiring and different connections made with the edge that I don't want to mess with, lots of zip-ties and wire looms and such. Also, from my viewpoint, I've already narrowed things down... I know it's the edge that's causing this, because it only happens when I turn it up... I'm just trying to figure out WHY it's causing this and if it's normal or not, and exactly WHAT is making the noise.

 

How high have you taken the edge to? When I first put my comp on my truck, I noticed it took slightly longer to start. Drove fine otherwise. First run on 5x5 killed the IP. Don't want to put a scare into you, just voicing my experience.

If you pump is noisy, try running a litre of 2 stroke oil in a full tank, or a tank of 20% bio. My HRVP is a noisy sucker, and those two help quiet it down considerably.

 

mines louder too ever since the switch to ulsd

 

I've run it on 5x5 (by 5x5 I assume you mean level 5 with the most low boost fueling) a few times. I read somewhere that if that doesn't kill your pump fairly shortly afterward that you've probably got a fairly "stout" pump... but I guess anything's possible.

BTW, just checked the codes - NONE

 

NotMatt, My truck does that very same thing, at the same speed range you describe. My truck's IP is going out, consistently throwing the P0216 code for over a year now. I haven't had the other death symptoms of dead pedal or white smoke, but I lost a lift pump while traveling the freeway, and probably destroyed the little diaphragm I read about that lets the timing piston/plunger control the advance(?). My fuel mileage is slowly degrading, and I have much less power than I am used to while towing. Sounds to me like you are on your way to a new VP-44, just like I am... I can't really complain: 201k on the original VP44, mostly hard towing isn't bad...And the original lift pump took a dump at 175k miles. I got a pretty good one!

 

That's what I was afraid of. It seems to come and go too, tonight I drove for 30 miles on the highway and didn't hear it once. Oh well, I'll have to start a savings account for the eventual I guess.

Funny, I've noticed my mileage has improved a bit since I put the edge box on...

 

My truck also made the same noise that I believe NotMatt is referring to. It seemed to only do it when the ambient temp was in the low 30s and below. The noise was a little like valve clatter. It would come and go in short intervals. My VP44 was also failing. I have since replaced it and I have not run it in lower ambient temps yet. I am also running 2 stroke oil and Power Service as additives to my fuel. I've got my fingers crossed.

 

Do you use a diesel fuel additive?
If not, try adding about 12-16 oz of a good lubricity additive (PowerService white bottle is available at Walmart) and see if that quiets things down a tad.
I use Stanadyne Performance Formula, abd I can definately tell the difference in sound when I don't "dose" when I fill-up.